Peace
by Aleka
Summary: A girl walks into the boys' life, and she wins them all over immediately, especially Rocky and Colt. (mwahaha hinted love triangle) But the only thing is, she hates violence, and doesn't agree with all the fighting.
1. Default Chapter

"Gross! I just stuck my butt in a glob of sap!" my thirteen-year-old brother, Tum-Tum whined. 

"Shut up, retard," Colt, my other brother (the one with the temper) snapped. "You want him to hear us?"

"What I _want_ is to get out of this stupid tree and eat a sandwich."

"Grandpa always kicks our butts anyway," I told Colt. "I don't get why we bother. He's like Super Ninja or something."

Tum-Tum, always the optimist, said, "We'll get him this time, guys."

"Shh!" Colt hissed. Falling quiet, we heard leisurely footsteps crunching on the loose gravel below us. "Can you see him, Rocky? Is it Grandpa?"

Rocky--that's me. The oldest and wisest Douglas brother. Currently, I was in a tree with my little brothers, waiting to ambush my grandfather as he came home from a morning walk. It was something we tried to do every summer when we were visiting at his cabin. He taught us the way of the ninja, and every time we tried to catch him off guard, we hoped our ninja training would come in handy. But it usually didn't.

"No, I can't see," I replied, craning my neck to spot Grandpa. "It's leafy."

Tum-Tum giggled. "Ooh look at the scary ninja man, 'help, help, I can't see, there's leaves, there's leaves!'"

I whacked him across the head. 

The person on the ground stopped walking. 

"Good job, Tum, you blew our cover!" Colt whispered heatedly. "Rocky, go!"

Rolling my eyes, I leapt from the tree blindly, just knowing that Grandpa was waiting on the ground with some amazing ninja tactic that would leave me seeing stars. However, I remarkably made contact. 

"AUGGGHHH!"

It took me several moments to realize that the person I'd just clobbered wasn't Grandpa--he usually didn't scream like that. 

"Take my money! Take my Gummi Bears! Just don't kill me or tie me to a chair and probe me!"

I quickly rolled away. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry," I babbled. "I thought you were my grandfather."

It was a girl. She accepted my hand and I helped her to her feet. She was notably shorter than I was. Without thinking, I picked a leaf from her disheveled brown hair. "You jump out of trees and pounce on your grandfather?" she demanded. "You think you're George of the Jungle or something? What kind of sicko are you?"

"We're ninjas! It's normal ninja behavior!" I protested. 

Colt and Tum-Tum jumped down and began to laugh hysterically. "Rocky, you just attacked a girl!" Colt cried. "That's not Grandpa!"

"I know that!" I snapped. "Listen, I'm really, really, very, incredibly sorry. Did I hurt you?"

The girl scowled. "I bit my finger."

"How?" Tum-Tum giggled. 

"I was eating when he came flying out of nowhere and landed on me."

"What were you eating? A sandwich?"

"Tum-Tum," I said impatiently to silence him. "I'm Rocky. And I'm also still very sorry."

She raised her eyebrows. "Rocky? I've heard of a boxer named Rocky, but never a ninja."

I smiled at her. She didn't seem too angry anymore. "It's my ninja name. And that's Colt, and Tum-Tum."

"Dude! I wish my name were Tum-Tum!" She grinned and gave him a high-five. "All the power to ya!"

"He eats a lot," Colt explained. "I mean, constantly. 

"I can strongly relate," the girl sighed. "I'm Kate."

"Good to know," Tum-Tum said. "Hey, since you like food, wanna come over and help me eat ours?"

"Guah!" she squeaked excitedly. "Yes! Yes I do!"

Grandpa was already back at the cabin when we returned. "Hello, boys."

"Hi Grandpa," we called. 

"Is it lunch yet?" Tum-Tum asked.

"It's nine-thirty, Tum-Tum," I reminded him, although my stomach was growling with hunger too.

"I already had breakfast though."

Grandpa, who was scrambling eggs for us, looked back and noticed Kate with us. "Boys, I didn't know you were inviting someone over. Mori Tonaka." He shook her hand. 

"Kate Russell." She smiled at him, her blue eyes genuinely kind and gentle. "What charming grandsons you have."

"What did they do?" he demanded, glaring at us.

"Rocky ambushed her," Colt told him helpfully. I elbowed him sharply in the ribs. "But it was only because he thought it was you. He was trying to kill you."

"I was not!" I cried. "Shut up, Colt!"

"Rocky," Grandpa said sternly. "A true ninja--"

"No, _please, _Grandpa, no lectures right now!" I begged, blushing. 

Grandpa smirked in that omnipotent way he had. He went back to the stove.


	2. Dizzying Heights

I out-ate Tum-Tum, but it was an incredible challenge. That kid was a garbage disposal. I smiled at him as he glared menacingly at me. 

"I won," I declared teasingly. 

"That's because I had breakfast before I ate this breakfast."

"So? I'm shorter. I should have a smaller stomach capacity than you."

"But you _don't_," Colt said in awe. "I'm amazed at your eating ability, Kate. I mean, I'd bow down but I'm just kind of perplexed."

Laughing, I finished off my orange juice. "Thanks for breakfast, Mr. Tonaka. It was really good."

"Well, feeding you was the least we could do, considering what my grandson put you through this morning," he replied. 

Rocky put his head down on the table in defeated frustration. "I already said I was sorry," he muttered, his voice muffled. 

The way his mousey brown hair peeked out from underneath his blue hat was kind of cute. I said, "I've forgiven this morning's festivities."

Rocky glanced up at me. He had these icy green eyes that kinda freaked me out, until his cautious smile brightened them. "Thanks."

The four of us walked around with no direction in mind. Colt and Tum-Tum were hitting each other with sticks. I found it funny, therefore I laughed. 

"Why are you laughing?" Rocky asked. 

I looked up at him. "Your brothers entertained me. Sometimes I laugh, you see."

"Sorry, I was spacing." He yelled to his brothers, "Guys, you're going to gouge out each other's eyes!"

"Cool!" Tum-Tum cried enthusiastically. 

"Awesome! Hold still, Tum-Tum, and try not to blink--"

"Colt!" Rocky called. "Get that stick away from his eyes!"

Once they went back to civilized stick-fighting, Rocky looked back at me. "So, uh…who are you?"

I smiled at his awkwardness. He didn't seem to be too much of a lady-charmer. But I thought it was borderline endearing. "Kate. Who are you?"

"No, I meant, where are you from? What were you doing when I…um…assaulted you?"

I giggled. "You didn't assault me, you just scared the crap out of me. And I'm actually from the city, but my mom lives here, and I'm just visiting her for the summer."

"The city? You mean Hargrove?" he asked curiously. "That's where me and my brothers live. We stay with Grandpa here during the summer every year."_ (Author's Note: I don't know where the boys lived, so I just made up a name. If you know, could you fill me in?)_

"Well, then I guess I'll have to be seeing you around more often, eh?" I said, smiling. "Oh, and I was just going for a walk to escape my psychotic brothers. They're psychotic."

"I know how you feel," he sighed. 

"Your brothers are cool," I told him.

"I know," he said. "They just have a hard time taking stuff seriously sometimes, you know? Colt's like my best friend and everything, but he spazzes sometimes and it gets us in trouble. And Tum-Tum…is Tum-Tum."

I nodded. "My older brother, Gavin, pretty much leaves me alone because he's usually out prowling the streets looking for girls. He's under the illusion that he's God's gift to the female-folk. And then Jesse, my younger brother, is always trying to kill me. Last week, he set up this intricate system of pulleys in the kitchen that he believed would result in my head getting chopped off. He could be quite the evil-genius if he could get the whole smart thing down."

Rocky laughed. "Me and my brothers get along pretty well. We've gone through a lot together."

I was about to ask for an example of what they'd been through together, but we suddenly came to a log that stretched over a ravine. Rocky was already standing on it like it was solid ground, and he looked back, confused at my hesitation.

"What's wrong?"

"The ground just quit," I said. "And the log is looking at me funny."

"It's like a bridge," he said indifferently. "Come on, we lost Colt and Tum-Tum."

I stared at the log warily. 

"You're afraid of heights, aren't you?" he said, grinning softly. 

"I am not afraid of heights," I growled indignantly. "I'm afraid of falling off a decaying log to my miserable death."

"You won't _die_, it's like six feet from the ground even if you did fall, which you won't," he laughed. "Come on."

"But I'm only sixteen," I whined. "I don't even have a license yet. I run into walls on a regular basis and fall out of bed all the time, so I have no faith in myself crossing this bridge without falling. I'm too young to die and I haven't done enough idiotic things to qualify for really living."

He tentatively took me by the hand, a sweet pink blush spreading across his face. "If you fall, I'll fall, okay? And I've crossed this thing with buckets of water strapped to me, so our chances of making it are looking pretty good."

"Gah, it wobbles," I muttered.

"It does not," he laughed.

We hopped off the log to blessed sturdy ground. He let go of my hand, and I knew that I was as red as he was. "Let's go," he said. "They're probably waiting for us."

I snickered as he walked slightly ahead of me. Yep, he was definitely cute. 


	3. Liking Her

"What took you so long?" Tum-Tum demanded when Kate and I caught up to them finally. They were fighting playfully; Tum-Tum was suspended in the air by his ankles by Colt. 

"Yeah," Colt chimed in. "Did you guys trip and fall on each other's lips?"

"Grow up, Colt," I said irritably. 

"I'm afraid of logs now as well as falling to my death," Kate told them. "I kinda stalled trying to cross the ravine."

"That's not even a ravine," Colt laughed. "It's barely a ditch."

"Hey, blame it on my full stomach, alright?" she growled, but there was a carefree smile on her porcelain-pale face.

"You're still full?" Tum-Tum cried incredulously. "I could eat a horse."

"I never claimed to be an industrial vacuum, Tum-Tum," she said. "I have my limits when it comes to food, boundless as they may be."

"Colt, Tum-Tum's face is turning colours," I pointed out. "Maybe you should put him down before his head bursts."

Sighing, Colt obliged, carefully setting our little brother down on his feet. 

"What are we doing now?" Tum-Tum asked eagerly.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'd better start heading home," Kate said sadly. "My mom might actually start to get worried if I don't get home soon because I've scared her before."

"What did you do?" I asked.

"I got my pants stuck on a fence post." She shrugged. "And I wasn't about to walk home pant-less, so I just hung there. Wedgie from hell, I tell ya."

All three of us laughed, and she eventually joined in, giggling along with us, explaining how she was running from a seagull when she tried to hop a fence but got caught. Apparently she couldn't remember how she freed herself, just that it took about an hour or two of hanging on the fence, contemplating different ways to escape.

"I'll see you later, hopefully, right?" she said, her cheeks pink from laughing. She looked at all of us individually, with expectance in her eyes. I think my brothers and I each had the mutual realization that we wouldn't mind having this girl hanging out with us this summer. 

"Definitely," I replied. Colt and Tum-Tum nodded in agreement.

"Oh damn," she grumbled as she turned to leave. "I forgot about that stupid log. I wish I could fly."

"Ninjas can fly," Tum-Tum offered.

"Well, I wish I could borrow some of your magic ninja-dust so that I could fly over it," she said.

Pretending to sound indifferent and almost resentful, Colt said, "I'll walk you over it."

I shot a look at him, and he just shrugged innocently. 

"Thanks, Colt," she said, smiling at him. She looked back cheerfully at Tum and I. "See ya, guys. Rocky, you stay out of trees, comprende?"

"Comprende," I replied. I watched her and Colt disappear into the trees, listening to their light-hearted chatter until they grew too far away. "He definitely likes her," I said, mostly to myself, but Tum-Tum just scoffed. 

"So do you," he said. 

"I do not," I snapped. 

"Rocky loves--" he began to sing, but apparently realized that 'Rocky loves Kate' didn't fit the stupid taunting song like 'Rocky loves Emily' did. "She needs a longer name."

"Or, you could just shut up because it's not true," I told him, trying to be polite. "I just met her. There's no wedding date set as of late."

"But you wish there was!"

"I do not!"

"You think she's _yummy_," he teased. 

"Tum-Tum, I'm bigger, stronger and faster than you," I threatened. 

"You want to kiss her! And have her babies!"

"I can't have HER babies, that's genetically and physically impossible, she'd have MY babies."

"Ha!" he cried triumphantly.

"I didn't mean I _wanted_ her to have my children, I was just giving you a biology lesson!"

He ran ahead of me, singing loudly about my alleged love for Kate. I wanted to kill the little bugger. 


	4. Colt and Kate

"Kate, He-man could kill She-Ra so much she'd have to have multiple funerals," Colt said confidently.

"You fool," I replied.

"He's the Master of the Universe!" He kicked an empty pop can down the road. We'd finally reached Main Street, which meant only about six blocks left to walk. I bent down and picked up the can, tossing it into a garbage can.

"I'm no longer talking to you. If I beep, you may leave a message, but I doubt I will," I said, trying to sound indignant.

"But I walked all this way for you," he protested. "I could've left you on the log. But I'm kind and courteous so I generously took you all the way home, only to upset you by dissing your idol She-Ra. Are you kidding?"

"Do I LOOK like I'm kidding?"

"Kinda, yeah."

I broke out into a smile. "Oh. That's because I am."

"Good," he laughed. "So why haven't I seen you back in Hargrove?"

"We just moved," I said simply. 

"Really? Why? Did your dad get transferred or through a mid-life crisis or something?"

"No," I replied, and attempted to shrug indifferently, but failed. "I was having trouble with my old school in Redding."

"Well that sucks," he said. "What kind of trouble?"

"I peed this girl off, and I swear, she's like 30, and she failed the tenth grade fourteen times. So she picks a fight with me, right, but I wouldn't fight back. She got even more pissed because she couldn't get a reaction out of me, I guess. So practically every other day I'd get the crap kicked out of me after school by her and her j.d. girlfriends." I sighed. "No one would do anything, not teachers or school officials or anything, so my dad got fed up and moved us all out to Hargrove because it's where he grew up. My brothers and sisters are kinda mad at me for making them lose all their friends and stuff."

"That sucks the fat one," Colt said empathetically. "Wait--you have sisters? I thought you just had two brothers."

"Two sisters, too. Fourteen and seventeen. They didn't come here with us because they're kinda unhappy with my mom. They still think she broke up our family…even though I guess she kinda did, what with her cheating on my father…but anyway. I don't feel like talking about that."

"Sometimes I get picked on too, but I usually retaliate if Rocky's not there to stop me and tell me to walk away. Why didn't you just kick her ass?"

"I don't believe in violence," I muttered.

"It's not violence, it's self-defense," he protested.

I sighed, desperately not wanting to get into my pacifist beliefs with a boy I'd just met, especially when that boy happened to be a ninja. "It's just that…um…it kinda goes back to 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you,' you know?" I hoped I wasn't sounding too preachy. I really liked Colt, and I didn't want him to think I was a freak or pretentious or anything. 

"No, no, no, Kate. Do unto others before THEY do unto YOU," he laughed, but when I arched an eyebrow at him, he muttered, "Okay, so I'm not Mr. Yuk-Yuk's. But what if that girl really hurt you? You wouldn't have done anything to defend yourself?"

"What good is a value if you ignore it as soon as a challenge comes up?" I shot back. 

"Sorry," he said. "Didn't you know you were so insistent."

"Not insistent," I said, and could just feel the blush spreading across my face. This was a stupid conversation. "I just don't like it when people get hurt."

"Neither do I," he told me. "That's why me and my brothers help people in need."

"Well good," I laughed. "I'm glad you don't point and laugh at people in need."

"Oh dear," I murmured as we approached my mother's cabin.

"What?" he whispered. 

"It's quiet."

"That's a bad thing?"

"Jesse's hiding somewhere." I glanced around apprehensively. "I might die."

"I'll protect you," he giggled. 

"Good luck," I said skeptically. "Jesse? I'm just going inside…please remain calm…RUN, COLT, RUN!"

He and I sprinted for the door, Jesse following close behind us, dressed in camouflage.

"What's wrong with your brother?" Colt cried, as we ran through the house, trying to escape him. "He's foaming at the mouth!"

"He's what?" I demanded. "Jesse, did you contract rabies again?"

"The name's Cujo," Jesse hollered back. "RGGHH!!! ARRGHH!! GHHAAACHH!"

"Oh my God," Colt muttered, and tipped over a chair to block Jesse's path. "Wow, Kate, I like your house, it's nice!"

"Shut up, and run, he's going to bite me!" I screamed and fell to the carpeted floor. "Jesse! Get the hell off me! Ow! You little monster!"

Colt grabbed Jesse around the waist and hoisted him off me effortlessly like he weighed 10 pounds rather than 125. For an eleven-year-old, Jesse was pretty sturdy. He was already taller than I was. 

I touched the spot on the back of my leg where he had bitten me, and then warily smelled it. "Hmm. Toothpaste. Nice, Jesse."

"Thanks, Kate," he said, dusting himself off. "Who's your boyfriend? I admire his bravery." He turned around and smiled, impressed, at Colt. "Picking up a kid with rabies, man, props to you."

"I sneeze in the face of danger," Colt replied. 

"Now that's just unsanitary." He giggled. "I sneeze in the face of my sister. You should do that."

"Ahh, no, that's alright." 

I glared impatiently at Jesse. "His name's Colt, he's not my boyfriend, and don't you dare try to turn him against me."

"Ask her to sing the song she made up about her underwear," Jesse begged Colt. 

Grinning, Colt tilted his head at me. "Would you say it was a number one hit, or just a little jingle?"

"Both of you shut up!" I cried. "I don't even remember it."

"Yes you do," Jesse teased, poking me in the ribs.

I sighed, and muttered, "Wondies…for my undies…I love you undies…soft and fun-dy…you deserve wondies…for you, undies…TIIIIIDE!" 

"Tide?" Colt wondered.

"Yeah, it was an endorsement for laundry detergent," I grumbled. "My sister Mikalen and I made it up, it's for people who really love their soft and fun underwear. I was ten, alright?"

Colt and Jesse were giggling wildly. 

"Jesse, piss off," I barked. "Go find some orphans to terrorize."

"You're more fun though, because you blush. And since your boyfriend is here, that makes it even more worthwhile."

"He's not my boyfriend!" I yelled, "MOM! Chain Jesse up in the basement!"

My mom called back, "Jesse, are you bugging your sister?"

"No!"

"Come here, I need help measuring the boards for this bookcase!"

Growling, Jesse sauntered off. 

"Thank you, Mother," I called pleasantly to her. I looked at Colt. "Are you going to stay awhile?"

"If you want me to," he said, a playful smirk on his face.

"I do."


	5. Lesson

Colt came home later that day, looking smug. 

"Hello, Rocky," he said, a dangerous lightness in his voice. 

"Hi," I said slowly. Squinting at him, I watched as he flopped down on a kitchen chair like he didn't have a care in the world. 

"I wish you would have told me where you were going before you disappeared for three hours," Grandpa scolded him.

"Sorry, Grandpa," he said automatically. 

"Were you with Kate this entire time?" I asked, hoping that the curiosity that had been killing me for the past three hours wouldn't show in my tone.

"Yes I was," he replied. "Her mother makes very good cookies."

Tum-Tum slid across the kitchen floor in his socks, grabbing on to the counter to stop himself. "Did you kiiiiiss her?"

"And what if I did?" he said enigmatically.

"Colt, you barely know her!" I cried. 

"Rocky, man, I didn't even touch her," he laughed. "Keep your pants on, buddy. You like her or something?"

"_No,_" I insisted, ignoring the doubtful looks I received from Colt, Tum-Tum, and even Grandpa. "Would everyone quit asking me that?"

"If you'd just admit that you're in looooove with her, we would quit asking," Tum-Tum offered.

"Well, that's not gonna happen, because I'm not in looooove with anyone," I snapped. "Colt's the one that's in love with her."

"Shut up, Rocky, I don't even believe in love," he said, involuntarily getting into his defensive stance with his head tilted and his arms loose at his side. 

"Grandpa, are we doing any training this afternoon?" I asked to change the subject.

"No, sorry boys, but my back's a little sore today," he said, and I knew that he was sorry. Being a ninja was what made Grandpa. He loved it. And it was something that he truly, completely understood, and I think it brought a lot of joy to him to be able to pass along what he knew to us--even though we kinda screwed up on occasion and pissed him off.

"It's okay," I told him. "I'm just gonna go outside and practice with the nunchuks. I'm kinda rusty."

"Yeah," Tum-Tum giggled in agreement. "Last time he whacked himself in the eye and he cried."

"I didn't cry!" I shouted. I seriously didn't cry. I never cry.

"Oh, did you suddenly develop an allergy to air that made your eyes water?" Colt smiled brightly at me.

"Hey, if you get poked in the eye, you're gonna tear up a little," I said, shrugging. "Have a nice day." 

In the backyard, I was kinda getting the knack of it. I figured I was ready enough to throw the nunchuks up in the air and be able to catch them. Watching them twirl high, the sun glared in my eyes and I had to look away. The chuks hit me on the head, and I swore softly, glad that no one was around to see me screw up. 

"Rocky," Grandpa called, stepping out of the backdoor and walking to me with that awkward gait he'd had for as long as I could remember. "You're going to hurt yourself."

I rubbed my head. "Too late."

"You can't practice when your heart is not in it," he told me, pointing to my heart. 

"My heart _is_ in it, Grandpa--" I tried to protest. 

"You are not concentrating."

"The sun was in my eyes!"

"Rocky, your mind is too occupied with other things," he told me gently.

"It is not," I told him firmly. "I'm just not very good with these damn things and I couldn't see because of the sun."

"Sixteen years old and you still can't see that you don't have to be perfect all the time," Grandpa sighed. 

I lowered my head. I hated to disappoint Grandpa. And I hated it when he saw things in me that I couldn't.

"Your life does not have to revolve around the art. Sometimes it's okay to be preoccupied with other things. Such as being worried that the girl you have your eye on might be interested in your brother, maybe?"

I sighed. "I never said I had my eye on her, Grandpa."

"Don't think I'm a fool, Rocky," he said, a weathered yet light-hearted smile on his face. "I am a good observer. You acted differently around this girl. I've never seen anyone blush as much as you did during one meal."

"She's different," I murmured, shrugging. "I hardly know her at all, but I can't help it…I want to impress her and be different like she is. What's Colt got that I don't?"

"Many things," he said. "But you also have many things that he doesn't have. Be yourself around this girl, Rocky, and she'll see what she could have. Keep in mind, though, your brother also likes her. Don't let her get the best of the friendship you and Colt have."

"I wouldn't do that," I assured him. "Colt's my best friend."


	6. Phone Call

****

(AN: Mikalen is pronounced Mih-kay-len…just so you know :) There was a girl on Jeopardy the other day whose name was Mikalen I decided that I liked it…anyway!)

"Kate," Mom called. "Your sister's on the phone for you."

I gave a little yip of delight. Jesse and I were sprawled out on the living room floor playing Monopoly, the stupidest game ever invented that always took too damn long and made me want to kill something. I was losing horribly as usual. Jesse owned all the railroads, not to mention Boardwalk. I, on the other hand, was in jail. Glad to take a break from the game from hell, I slid into the study my mom was renovating and picked up the extension. "Hello?"

"Katia!" my fourteen-year-old sister Mikalen exclaimed. "How's life?"

"I can't complain. You sound pretty chipper, so I'm assuming life's good to you?"

Mikalen giggled. "I finally got my blue belt! I kicked ass! I was all, like, good and stuff! And dad was like 'wow' and I'm like…modest…and then…I wish you'd been there, Kate!"

"I do too, Kale," I told her honestly. "You do a good job of kicking people's asses." She knew that I wasn't into the whole martial arts thing like she was, but I could tell she was too excited to not share the news with me. "Hey, I met some guys today. You'd like them."

"Go on," she urged patiently. 

"Uh, well, they're brothers. Three of them. And they're ninjas."

"Sweet!" she cried. "Ninjas like Bruce Lee? Gah! Send them to me!"

"No, I happen to enjoy their presence myself." I smiled. "But they live in Hargrove. They just stay at their Grandpa's cabin every summer. So you'll meet them."

"I would be doing my spastic chicken dance if I didn't have to hold this phone to my head!" Mikalen squeaked. 

I laughed. Mikalen was my best friend in the world, what with us being so close in age. My older sister Rue was actually closer in age to me, but she'd been all crabby and bossy lately, whereas Mikalen was her same old self. So anyway, I knew Mikalen's greatest weaknesses: boys and martial arts. She was pretty good herself. I watched her once at a karate tournament and all of her motions were strong, flowing and perfect. She really loved it, and she rocked at it. Eagerly, she asked, "How did you meet them?"

"Uhh…well, the oldest brother jumped from a tree and landed on me. And then the other two climbed down and laughed," I explained. "It was interesting. But they're superly nice and funny and cute."

"Do you like one of them? Or two of them? Or three of them?" she demanded. 

"No," I said slowly. "I don't know. Rocky, he's the oldest…he's sweet and genuine. But Colt is funny and easy to talk to…"

"And the remaining brother…?"

"He would eat all my food," I finished. 

We both laughed. "Cant have that," she said. 

I sighed. "I think I might eventually go nuts."

"Why?"

"What if I fall for both of them?"

"Double the pleasure, double the fun."

"Shut up," I giggled. "Seriously. I mean, I just met them and I already can't stop thinking about them."

"Hmm," she murmured. "Well, I guess, consider yourself lucky for getting to meet them."

"That's grown up advice, Mikalen," I said. 

"Ah yes, I'm a wise old owl--ow, son of a bitch!"

I cackled. "What did you do?"

"I dove to catch a piece of flying fluff in the air and I slammed into the wall."

"Congratulations."

I heard yelling the background. Mikalen listened, and then said to me, "I gotta go, Kate. Rue claims that Dad said it's my night to take out the garbage. Reconsider the whole refusing to Fed-Ex those guys to me, okay?"

"No."

"Okay."

I laughed. "Have a good night, Mikalen. Love ya."

After I hung up, I turned around to discover Gavin standing in the doorway. "You sick incestuous child."

"You love her too," I told him. "And ME! You love me!"

"Do not!" he cried, running from me. I chased him. "Love is disgusting!"

"Well, yes," I agreed. "It does strange things to people, kinda like rabies or something. But family love is safe!"

"NO! It's GROSS! AND SO ARE YOU!"

I didn't know that that was the summer that I would fall in love for the first time. And it was not at all like rabies.


	7. Dark Clouds

There was only about a week left in summer. Grandpa would be taking us back home in five days. It was a good thing that Kate lived in Hargrove, because Colt, Tum-Tum and I had become pretty fond of her and we would miss her a lot otherwise. 

"Watch out for the kid," Colt warned us as he, Tum-Tum, and I waited on Kate's front porch, waiting for someone to answer the door. 

"What kid--" Tum-Tum began to ask around the piece of licorice hanging out of his mouth, but an ear-splitting scream cut through the air. It sounded like someone running away from something else. All three of us instinctively got into a defensive stance, our knees bent and our fists clenched. Then, Kate zoomed past us, sopping wet. Moments later, Jesse flew by, cackling maniacally. 

"_That_ kid," Colt replied. He jumped in front of the kid, sliding across the ground and tripped him. 

Jesse yelled, "Damn you, Colt! You planned my foils!"

Tum-Tum offered helpfully, "I think you mean he foiled your plans."

"Whatever!" he cried. "Now where did she go?"

Someone grabbed my sides, and I jumped a foot in the air, squeaking and whirling around. Kate stood behind me, staring at me in surprised wonderment.

My brothers were doubled over with laughter. "Incredible ninja-nuity, Rock!" Colt laughed. "If I were in a dark alley surrounded by bad guys, I'd definitely want you by my side! Maybe you could squeal at them!"

"Sorry, Rocky, I didn't mean to scare you," Kate told me. 

"You didn't scare me," I said, even though I was thoroughly embarrassed. "You just caught me off guard."

She grinned in amusement. "That's what you do when you get caught off guard? I'd like to see what happens when you're actually scared." She looked at me with a softness I'm not sure how to describe. "It's alright. Anyway, what are you guys doing here? I never knew you were coming. Otherwise I might have dried off a little first." Glancing down at her drenched clothes, she took a corner of her dark green shirt and wrung some of the water out of it. 

"Yeah, how did you get that wet?" Tum-Tum asked her. 

Kate glared at her younger brother. "That little stink bomber trapped me under the porch stairs and sprayed me with the hose."

"Alright," Colt laughed appreciatively, giving him high five. 

"I was just trying to see if you'd melt like that lady in the Wizard of Oz," her brother called. 

"That was the wicked witch of the west," she snapped. 

"Witch?" He laughed. "Well now I feel stupid! I always thought it was the wicked _bitch_ of the west! That's why I sprayed you; you're so much alike!"

"Jesse!" she yelled, and tried to run down the stairs. Jesse screamed at the top of his lungs and ran away. Tum-Tum and I held her back while she seethed with anger. 

"You scare me when you get angry," Tum-Tum told her. 

"Why thank you, Tum-Tum," she said. "So! What are you doing here?"

"We were bored, and Grandpa was going out to run some errands and he dropped us off on his way," I explained. "You don't mind, do you?"

"No," she replied immediately. "My only company is Jesse, and I dislike him with a passion much of the time. I guess there's my mom too…but nah. So you guys will do nicely!"

"Do nicely for what?" Tum-Tum asked. 

"Entertaining me, silly."

We ended up taking a walk down by the shore. There was a man-made lake, rumored to be 30% water, 70% pee. No one really swam there anymore except for at the beginning of the summer when it was nice and filtered…but then kids got in there and peed…so it was gross. We all took our shoes off, letting the fine white sand sift between our toes. 

"Ow, I hate sand, ow, a rock, ow, my foot, ow, a rock punctured my foot," Tum-Tum griped, walking slightly behind us. 

"Tum-Tum," Colt sighed impatiently. "Hurry up."

"I am not going any faster than this," he said adamantly. "The sand is burning my feet and hurting me and I'm starving."

"I've got a bag of Teddy Grahams in my pocket," Kate offered. "They're pretty crushed though. So they're mostly Teddy Graham War Amps…because you know…they're missing body parts…and stuff…"

Colt smiled over at her. I rolled my eyes. Once Tum-Tum was munching resentfully on the broken Teddy Grahams, we began walking again. I wished we had had a set direction to head in because I was bored and feeling left out. 

"Tum-Tum," Colt whined. "Let's _go."_

"I never asked you to baby sit me," he shot back, stopping for the hundredth time to wipe sand off his feet. "Walk as fast as you want."

"Fine." Colt looked at Kate and me. "Let's go, I'll race you guys to the sand dune up there."

"No, Rocky, don't go!" Tum-Tum said. 

"What?" I demanded. "You said you didn't need a babysitter!"

"But I don't want to get eaten by a seagull either," he shot back matter-of-factly. "They're vicious."

I looked at Colt and Kate. They were oblivious to our conversation, laughing animatedly about something. Yeah, I was jealous. And I felt bad for being jealous because she seemed good for him. Instead of being cynical and sarcastic, he was happy and outgoing. And Kate just seemed taken with him. When he made her laugh, her eyes lit up and crinkled in the corners happily…dammit, she was cute. I wanted Colt to be happy, but I wouldn't have minded if I could be happy too. I wasn't mad at Colt. I mean, it wasn't his fault that a girl that I liked had a crush on him instead of me. I was just jealous. 

"Alright, Tum-Tum," I said, knowing I'd just get excluded if I went ahead with them anyway. "You're just lucky I don't want to have to pry you out of a seagull's mandibles."

"Rock, come on, ready, set--" 

"I'm gonna walk with Tum," I told Colt.

"Tum-Tum!" Colt cried. "Now there's no challenge for me!"

Kate looked offended. "Hey! I'm plenty fast at the whole running thing."

He cackled. "You're a girl _and _you have short legs."

"My legs are petite, not short!"

"Whatever, ready, set, go!"

Colt took off for the sand dunes. There was a reason why Grandpa gave him the ninja name Colt--he was quick and lithe. However, Kate ran about twenty feet and then fell. 

I tried not to watch them. I stuck my hands in my pockets and looked up at the threatening sky. It looked like it was going to rain, thunderclouds rolling and twisting high above us. The sky fit my mood. 


	8. Behind the Sand Dune

Had I not tripped over my own feet, I might not have lost so badly to Colt. But I did trip, and I lost horribly.

His eyes twinkling with laughter, he panted, "Good race."

"Shut up," I breathed. 

Breathlessly, we climbed over the sand dune. It looked like it was about to rain, and if it did, we'd be okay, sheltered by the knoll. 

"What day are you heading back to the city?" I asked him. 

"Friday," he replied. "What about you?"

"Day after next," I sighed. "We have to get school supplies and stuff yet. And I have to pick up my books and I want to walk around the school so I can kinda get to know my way around."

Colt brushed some sand off of his tanned legs. "You nervous?"

"Nah." He looked at me skeptically, and I shrugged. "Yeah."

"Well, you're going to be in Rocky's grade," he told me, offering some consolation. "You'll probably be in some of his classes. He'll take care of you. And me and him will both make sure you don't get lost."

"I'm lucky to have meet you guys this summer," I told him honestly. "You don't know how hard it is for me to make friends."

"No way. You seemed to have befriended _us_ pretty quick," he pointed out.

I laughed heartily. "That's because your brother sneak-attacked me."

Grinning, he nodded. "Good point."

"I just hope I don't have any problems at this school."

Colt shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Kate. You won't."

I felt a drop of rain land on my arm. Gazing up at the sky, I muttered, "I seem to accidentally make trouble for myself wherever I go. I'm rather dysfunctional in that way."

"Hey," he said. "That's not even true. You don't make trouble wherever you go, you make everything good."

"Ew! Sappy!" I gagged, flopping over from overdosing on mushiness.

"Shut up, you freak," he snapped, but he was laughing. "What I was trying to say was, nothing is going to happen at school. What happened at your old school was bull; I don't see why anyone would ever want to hurt you, but everything's gonna be cool here. I wouldn't let anything happen to you."

I looked over at him in surprise. I hadn't known that Colt was capable of saying sweet stuff like that. I wondered if maybe it was because there was no one else around, but it didn't really matter. All that did matter was that he said those things to _me_, and not some other girl, and he meant it. 

"I'm going to ask you a question," he said. "So be prepared."

"Alright. Fire."

"Would it be okay if I kissed you?" he blurted. 

"Huh?" 

My undiplomatic squawk of surprise had no affect on Colt apparently, because he leaned over and kissed me briefly. When he pulled away, I was blushing furiously, and I'm pretty sure my eyes were bugging out of my head. 

"Hmm." Colt pursed his lips together, looking over the lake instead of at me. "Well. Um. Do you think it would be okay if I kissed you again?"

"Uhhh--I don't remember--" I stammered retardedly, and when he kissed me again, Rocky and Tum-Tum climbed over the hill. 

"SICK!" Tum-Tum hollered. 

"Shut up, Tum," Colt snapped.

"My virgin eyes!" Tum-Tum ran in circles for a few seconds while we all watched, and then ran to the lake and splashed water in his eyes. 

"You are aware that you're dousing your eyes with pee, right?" Colt asked. 

"I'd take pee over seeing you make out with her any day!"

I ran my hands through my hair, completely embarrassed. The look on Rocky's face was unreadable, but he didn't look too happy. He looked hurt. I wanted to tell him that it was a mistake and I hadn't really wanted Colt to kiss me…but Colt was right there. And how was I sure that I didn't want Colt to kiss me? It didn't matter, because from then on, I knew things would never be the same between the Douglas brothers and me. 


	9. Fratricide

We waited until the rain finished before we left the shelter of the sand dune. It was an awkward wait, and no one said very much, except for Tum-Tum, but that's to be expected. Tum-Tum didn't feel the tension like the rest of us did.

After dropping Kate off at her house, our walk from there was complete silence. Even Tum-Tum knew enough not to say anything. 

"Hello, boys," Grandpa called when we walked through the front door. "Did you cross paths with the rain?"

"Nah, we hid from it," Tum-Tum told him.

"How brave," Grandpa laughed. "Come help me set the table. Supper is almost ready."

"Mwahahahaa," Tum-Tum cackled happily and ran to help Grandpa. 

There were few words spoken at supper as well. Grandpa seemed to catch on to the rift between Colt and I, and he left us alone. Besides "pass the potatoes," not a whole lot was said. 

It wasn't until we went to bed that all hell broke loose. I had just brushed my teeth and was ready to climb under my covers when Colt said, "Rock, you're just pissed because for once, you weren't good enough to get the girl."

Snapping, I swung my fist wildly and caught him in the side of the head. He jumped back, gracefully dodging my second swing, and I slipped on the sheets and went down. 

Colt threw a blanket over me and sat on me. "Rocky, quit acting like a spaz!"

I tried to flip him off of me, but my arms and legs were tangled up impossibly. I outweighed him, but I couldn't move him off me no matter how hard I struggled. "Get the hell off of me!"

"Fat chance."

"I swear to God, Colt, if you don't let me up, I'm going to kick your ass."

"That doesn't seem likely, considering you can't move."

I stopped struggling. "Please, Colt."

He sighed. "Fine, but if you go psycho on me again, I won't hesitate to hit you back." He rolled away and helped me to my feet. 

"Thanks," I muttered, but I suddenly realized that my anger wasn't spent. I lunged at him, and we both went flying across the loft where we slept. He smacked his head on the floor, lashed out at me, and intentionally or unintentionally kneed me where no male likes being kneed. I recoiled for a moment, ignored the throbbing, shooting pain. 

"Boys!" Grandpa yelled, trampling up the stairs. "Boys, break it up!"

We ignored him, and proceeded to try and murder each other. 

He pried us apart and held us away from each other at arm's length. "What is _wrong_ with you two?" he yelled. "This isn't how ninjas act! This is how stupid little boys act!"

"He knew I liked her!" I shouted. "But he didn't care!"

"Well I like her too!" Colt shot back vehemently. "Why should everything work out for you and not me?"

"You could have maybe took into consideration how I would feel! But no, you gotta go and mack out all over her in front of me!"

"You just caught up with us at the wrong time!"

"Bullshit!" I shouted.

"Rocky!" Grandpa snapped. "This is ridiculous!"

"Damn right it is!" 

"Apologize to each other!"

"For WHAT?" Colt cried. 

"Colt, you knew that your brother was interested in this girl--"

"He kept DENYING it so how was I supposed to know?"

"You knew, Colt," Grandpa said firmly. "Is she really worth destroying the friendship you have with your brother?"

Colt glared at me with the determination and anger that I was returning to him. Almost in unison, our glares softened, and we looked down at the floor, embarrassed by how badly we'd overreacted. "I'm sorry, Rocky," he muttered. "I did know you liked her, but I like her too, you know? So I wanted to beat you to it, I guess…"

I shrugged. "It's fine. There are other girls. And I doubt you'd try to kick the crap out of me if you were in my place."

"Yes I would have," he laughed. "I would have kicked your butt half way across the country."

I laughed, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Friends, man?"

"Friends."


End file.
